Friday, December 31, 2010

The prompt this week for WaWe is artist’s choice and for Illustration Friday,
it’s resolutions. My choice this week was to do a painting of a
football playing moose that I had sketched a couple of years ago (and
had always wanted to do something with). It also works for the IF
prompt, because one of my New Year’s resolutions is to play more with my
art, to make something of those sketches that look fun, but aren’t for
my portfolio or a specific project. I know that playing with my art
helps it to move forward and helps me to grow as an artist. Plus, this
image reminds me of tonight, with the starry skies and fresh snow, both
of which seem to promise that all my shiny, new resolutions will be kept
all year.

I’m still trying to figure out what my other resolutions are …

What are your New Year’s Resolutions this year? How do you make sure you keep them?

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

The prompt for Illustration Friday this week is, “mail.” I thought
about all the holiday letters that are being sent this month and came up
with an image of swirling mail. (Or maybe it was a dream I had about
not having my cards in the mail yet!) Here it is:

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

The prompt this week for Watercolor Wednesdays is Winter Activities. I painted this image at the beginning of the month for this prompt. Then I got an email from Illustration Friday
with the prompt for this week, Phenomenon, which I thought also worked
for this painting. It would be a big phenomenon if penguins started to
ice skate! Maybe they’d even start a penguin Olympics! Okay, probably
not. Here’s my penguin skating with his birdie friends:

Monday, December 13, 2010

Just one book can change a life, so imagine what a difference that
one book would make if it were put in the hands of a little girl or boy
who had never before held a picture book, let alone had one for their
very own.

That’s why I’m hoping you’ll be kind enough to
donate children’s picture books, sending or bringing them to one of
three drop-off points in New York. LitWorld, in partnership with The
International Book Bank, will fill a 20ft container with the books
(around 3,000 are needed) and ship them to Liberia and Sierra Leone.
There, the books will be put straight into the hands of children (see
picture below of LitWorld Ambassador Kimmie Weeks reading aloud from
book donations). Some of these children will never have seen a picture
book before; the majority are used to sharing what they do have: one
book is shared among 75 children, on average.

About LitWorld:LitWorld is a non-profit
organisation that advocates for global literacy. LitWorld believes
stories are life-changing and sharing stories will create connections
that have the power to change the world.

LitWorld works closely with teachers all over Liberia, providing
professional development around reading and writing. We also provide
schools with much needed books, supplies and school materials.

Currently the ratio of children to books is 75:1. Our dream is to
change that to 1:1!About The International Book Bank:An
organization that has been delivering free books and educational
materials to developing countries since 1987, with the goal of
increasing literacy and advancing education.

About Liberia:As you may know, thousands
of people were killed in Liberia’s 16-year civil war, leaving the
nation in economic ruin. Many places are still without electricity and
running water. Unemployment and illiteracy continue to be endemic. The
country is attempting to rebuild and recover from this long and
arduous war. A large part of this effort is rebuilding the educational
system. In order for that to be successful they need an increased supply
of books and materials.About Sierra Leone: Though Sierra Leone is well known for
its diamond industry, it was ranked as the poorest country in the world
in 1998. The dispute over the control of the diamond mines erupted in
an 11-year civil war, which began in 1991 and ended in 2002. Sierra
Leone faces the intense challenges of reconstruction, with poverty and
unemployment leading the major issues. The Civil War deconstructed
1,270 schools, leaving 67% of children in 2001 without an education.
Today, two thirds of the adult population in Sierra Leone are
illiterate.

Here’s a crop of my three favorite sand-snowmen that I’m posting on the CBIG blog
this month. The prompt is tradition … it’s a tradition for my husband
and I to go out to the beach on New Year’s Eve at midnight to welcome in
the new year, which is what I imagine these three are doing:

The prompt this week for Illustration Friday
is prehistoric and I couldn’t help wondering what a brontosaurus would
look like made out of snow. Then I wondered if the giraffe and the
brontosaurus are related (I’m a visual person and the long necks of
both of them make them related in my mind). That’s how I came up with
this painting idea.

The snow dino and giraffe don’t really look like snow creatures
though. They both just look white. Maybe they rolled around in the snow
before this picture.

p.s. Did you know that a giraffe is called a twigga in Swahili? (According to my MIL after her trip to Africa.)

Author/illustrator Stephanie Ruble has been making art ever since she could hold a crayon, and making up stories since she learned to talk. She's currently working on new picture books, images for her portfolio, and drawing art for unusual holidays. Thanks for visiting!
Picture Book: Ewe and Aye written by Candace Ryan, Illustrated by Stephanie Ruble - in bookstores now.